The Chamber of Secrets
by Iggity
Summary: Tenth in my missing moments series. Yes, here it is; what happened down in the Chamber of Secrets? Proclamations of love? Or ... horrid secrets revealed? Chamber of Secrets indeed!


**A/N:** Tenth in my missing moments series. Also quite popular, but how can it _not_ be? Basically, what happened with Ron, Hermione and Hufflepuff's cup down in the Chamber of Secrets. For this one, you need to have read **Three Reasons**. I hate to ask you all to do so because I really hate the story (yeah, I know. I'm fucked up :P) but I mention what happened in it in here. I mean, c'mon; I had to give Riddle _something_.

And just to clarify: _Parseltongue_ is the language; _Parselmouth_ is the person who speaks Parseltongue. Or, at least that's how I understand it.

For those of you who are wondering (because I had a couple of reviews asking about this), I have finally come up with how many more missing moments we have left. Definitely two more, possibly three after this one. We have the hour that Harry spent in Snape's memory and heading to the forest to sacrifice himself, we have the time that Ron and Hermione had at the table before Harry found them and dragged them off to Dumbledore's office, and I _might_ write a short one where Ron and Hermione have a heart-to-heart and give themselves up to each other, but I'm not sure about that one yet. Let me know what you think.

"_Ron explained how he had watched Harry jump into the pool and had waited for him to resurface; how he had realised that something was wrong, dived in and saved Harry, then returned for the sword. He got as far as the opening of the locket, then hesitated, and Harry cut in._

_'- and Ron stabbed it with the sword.'_

_'And ... and it went? Just like that?' she whispered._

_'Well, it - it screamed,' said Harry, with half a glance at Ron. 'Here.'_

_He threw the locket into her lap; gingerly she picked it up and examined its punctured windows." (_DH, pg 314, UK edition_)_

"'_He's on the move,' he said quietly to Ron and Hermione. He glanced at Cho and then back at them. 'Listen, I know it's not much of a lead, but I'm going to go and look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know – the other one – safe.'"_ (DH, pg 471, UK edition)

**The Chamber of Secrets**

Hermione watched Harry leave the room with Luna beside him. She and Ron were silent for a few minutes before she turned to him.

'Even if we get the other Horcrux, how do we destroy it? We still have the cup,' she murmured so only Ron could hear.

Ron furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her.

'Hmm,' he said.

Hermione blinked.

'What?' she asked.

Ron chewed on his bottom lip slightly and Hermione had the sudden urge to kiss him, but restrained herself. Instead, she gripped his arm.

'What?' she repeated.

'I'm thinking … you said that Basilisk poison is one of the few things that would destroy a Horcrux, didn't you?' he said.

Hermione's eyes widened.

'Are you saying –'

'- that we should go to the Chamber of Secrets, destroy the cup, and bring back some fangs to destroy the other Horcruxes,' Ron finished, nodding.

Hermione let out a laugh.

'Ronald Weasley, if this room were empty, I'd kiss you,' she said, a huge smile on her face.

Ron grinned at her.

'C'mon; we can use a broom to get back up,' he said, grabbing her hand.

They raced from the room, grabbing the broom that had appeared out of nowhere on the way to the cupboard.

'Hey; where're you two going?' Neville called after them.

'Myrtle's bathroom,' Hermione and Ron called over their shoulders.

* * *

They skidded to a halt in front of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and Ron opened the door.

'Ladies first,' he said, bowing Hermione in.

Hermione blushed slightly and walked in, her wand out in front of her.

'Wow,' she said, looking around. 'Hard to believe that it was only five years ago that we were brewing Polyjuice Potion here.'

Ron chuckled.

'Correction,' he said. '_You_ were brewing Polyjuice Potion; Harry and I observed in awe.'

Hermione giggled.

'So where's the entrance? And how are we going to get in?' she asked.

Ron walked over to the sinks and inspected each one.

'Here,' he said, pointing.

Hermione walked over and looked at the sink.

'How do you know?' she asked.

'Snake engraved on the tap. Subtle, but noticeable if you're looking for it,' said Ron. 'One glance and you wouldn't even notice it was there.'

'That's generally what subtle means, Ron,' said Hermione absently, still looking at the snake.

Ron huffed.

'If you're going to start with me ...'

Hermione looked up.

'I'm not,' she said. 'Sorry; it's automatic.'

Ron nodded and sighed.

'So … to get in, Harry had to tell it to open in Parseltongue.'

'How are we going to do _that_?' Hermione asked, watching Ron.

Ron scrunched up his mouth in thought and Hermione resisted the urge to kiss him yet again.

'Of course,' he breathed. 'I'll just copy what Harry did.'

Hermione blinked.

'What?'

Ron chuckled.

'I'll hiss at it,' he said.

'You've lost me. You've completely lost me.'

'Parseltongue is just snake language. Well, snakes _hiss_. And when Harry spoke to the locket to make it open, he hissed at it. Same in second year,' Ron explained.

Hermione blew out a breath.

'I'm torn between being glad that I was Petrified in second year so I could miss all this, and hating that I was Petrified so I could miss all this.'

Ron laughed.

'If you were going to ask me, I'd say you'd want to be _glad_ that you missed it all,' he said, looking back at the snake. 'OK, here's to hoping this works.'

Hermione watched Ron open his mouth. An odd, spitting sound came out; nothing happened. The sink remained closed. Ron swore.

'Try again,' said Hermione, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ron looked at her and she smiled at him. He nodded and tried three more times; still, nothing happened.

'Bloody hell,' he spat. 'This is pathetic! I can't even manage to say,' Ron made the weird hissing noise, 'to get it to bloody well open!'

Hermione was gaping.

'Look,' she breathed, pointing.

Ron whipped around; the sink was moving, revealing an ever-growing pipe.

'Bloody hell!' Ron exclaimed.

Hermione threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

'You did it!' she cried. 'See, I knew you could!'

Ron laughed, picking her up and twirling her around in circles. He put her down and kissed her forehead.

'Thanks,' he said.

'What for?' she asked, her arms still around his neck.

'The confidence boost,' he said.

Hermione blushed and looked down.

'Not a problem,' she said.

'C'mon,' said Ron. 'The sooner we get this thing destroyed, the sooner this damn war can be over.'

Hermione walked over to the pipe and Ron held his arm out to stop her.

'What?'

'I think I'd better go down first. I'd use the broom, but I'm not sure where this thing turns and stuff, so it's better to just slide down. I'll go and see if there's anything that might be harmful,' he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

'Harmful?'

'Yes.'

'Like what? I thought the Basilisk was dead.'

Ron nodded.

'It is,' he said. 'But maybe there's something else down there that –'

'Ronald, just go. We're wasting time.'

* * *

They tumbled out of the pipe, landing rather painfully on the skeleton-covered cement. Hermione went to get to her feet, and when she looked up, Ron's hand was out. Hermione looked over at him and smiled before sliding her hand into his and hauling herself to her feet.

'Thanks,' she whispered.

'Not a problem,' he said, not letting her hand go.

Hermione smiled and they walked until they reached the snake skin.

'_What_ is _that_?' she asked, her voice higher than normal.

Ron chuckled.

'Snake skin, love. Nothing to worry about.'

Hermione gave a nervous laugh.

'Right,' she said. 'Have I told you that I hate snakes the way you hate spiders?'

Ron grinned and gently squeezed her hand.

'I've got you,' he said.

* * *

'Sweet Merlin,' Hermione breathed, clinging to Ron's arm.

'Bloody hell,' he whispered. 'I knew it was big, but I never thought ...'

A vivid, poisonous green coloured serpent at least forty feet long lay motionless on the ground in front of a statue of Salazar Slytherin. Its eyes had obviously been gouged out; the lids were crusted with dried blood that, by the looks of it, had streamed down the beast's head when it was still fresh. A hole in the top of the serpent's head was also crusted with blood that had streamed to the floor and added to the pool started by the beast's eyes. Its mouth was hanging open, revealing the long, yellow fangs that they would need to destroy the Horcruxes.

'How do we get them out?' Hermione asked.

Ron rested the broomstick against the wall and brushed his thumb over Hermione's knuckles before dropping her hand and walking forward.

'Maybe if we just … yank them out?'

And with that, Ron reached forward and gripped one of the fangs, braced a foot against the snake's gum line and yanked. Hermione saw his hands start to slip.

'Be careful!' she exclaimed. 'There's a reason why the fangs will work; the venom is still in the fang! If it penetrates your skin, you could be dead in less than twenty minutes!'

Ron placed his foot back on the ground and dropped his hands from the fang.

'So what do you suggest we do, Hermione?'

'Avoid pulling near the tip,' she said.

Ron walked over to her and gripped her shoulders. Hermione's eyes widened slightly in fear.

'You need to stop using words like that,' he growled.

Hermione pressed her hands against his chest.

'Words like what, Ronald?' she whispered.

'Words like "penetrate" and "tip",' he murmured.

Hermione's breathing hitched slightly.

'And why is that, Ronald?' she asked.

Ron growled.

'It's distracting,' he breathed in her ear.

Hermione was losing the grip she had on her self-control; she so badly wanted to push Ron up against a wall and snog him until they collapsed from lack of oxygen. But they had a job to do, and kissing Ron would only distract her from it. She pushed him away.

'Diffindo,' she muttered. 'Try diffindo.'

Ron cleared his throat and turned around, pointing his wand at one of the fangs.

'_Diffindo_,' he rumbled.

A slice was visible in one of the fangs and Ron strode forward and grabbed the fang, snapping it off.

'Brilliant!' he cried.

Hermione laughed and walked over to help. After ten minutes or so, they both had an armful of fangs.

'The cup,' said Hermione, dropping her pile on the ground and sitting down beside it. 'Let's get it over with.'

Ron nodded and dropped his pile beside hers before pulling the cup out of his pocket. He placed it on the ground in front of her and Hermione looked up at him.

'I think you should do it,' he said quietly, squatting down in front of her, the cup between them.

Hermione blinked.

'Why me?'

'Harry destroyed one, I destroyed one; it's your turn.'

Hermione sighed and grabbed one of the fangs off the ground beside her.

'I just … stab it? And it'll scream and die?' she asked.

'No,' said Ron. 'It might taunt you; lie to you. Make you want to attack someone that you love. Hermione, just remember that no matter what it says to you, it isn't true. Not a word.'

Hermione blinked and nodded.

'OK,' she said.

Hermione looked down and started slightly; an eye was watching her. Slowly, a figure blossomed from the bottom of the cup and Hermione inhaled sharply when she realised that it must be a younger version of Voldemort.

'I have seen your heart and it is mine,' he hissed. 'You need to choose, Hermione Jean, about who it is that you really want. I know about your sexual liaison with Harry Potter, but what about Ronald?'

Suddenly, he split in two; one an image of Harry, the other of Ron. Hermione's grip on the fang loosened slightly as she watched in horror. She could faintly hear Ron yelling behind Riddle, but Riddle's words were captivating and piercing and Hermione couldn't help but try and stand up for herself.

'No,' she mumbled. 'No, don't.'

'Don't what? Speak the truth?' Riddle-Harry drawled.

'It's not true,' she mumbled. 'Not true.'

'It's not true that you slept with Harry Potter?' Riddle-Ron accused. 'It's not true that _you_ kissed _him_ and it led to things that you could only ever _imagine_?'

Hermione was shaking her head.

'It's not true. It's not,' she whispered.

'And to think that I even _considered_ being with you!' Riddle-Ron exclaimed. 'How are you trust-worthy? Why would I _ever_ fall in love with _you_?'

Hermione had tears running down her face.

'Stop it,' she whimpered. 'It's not true; that's not what happened.'

'I was better off with Lavender Brown,' Riddle-Ron spat.

Hermione felt her nostrils flare at the name and her grip on the fang tightened and, with a scream of fury, she raised the fang over the cup and crashed it down. Hermione felt the fang splinter as it smashed into the stone ground, but she continued to stab, over and over and didn't stop until the screaming ceased. The cup was mangled and blackened and Hermione gave a shuddering sigh and folded herself over and sobbed.

'Hermione.'

Hermione shook her head.

'It didn't happen. We didn't … it's not true … I don't love him that way,' she blubbered.

Ron's hand rested lightly on her spine and Hermione felt his free hand lift her head slightly.

'C'mon,' he said gently. 'Stand up; come on. That's it, love.'

With Ron's help, Hermione got to her feet. He pulled her towards him and she gripped the front of his shirt, burying her face in his chest.

'I didn't,' she whimpered. 'I kissed him, but that's it. Nothing else.'

Ron stiffened slightly.

'You kissed Harry?' he repeated.

Hermione pulled back and looked at him.

'I was hurting and he was hurting and we just … we were trying to find something comforting. He missed Ginny, and you had left me and so we just …' Hermione took a shuddering breath. 'We stopped before things got too carried away. We thought that if we didn't tell you, we wouldn't hurt you. Ron, he's like my brother. Really, he is. We were just hurting so much and he was being so thoughtful and it reminded me of you and then … I'm so sorry.'

Ron looked down at her and Hermione could feel her heart cracking slightly.

'Why?' he asked. 'Why didn't you just … tell me?'

'How would I have?' Hermione asked. 'Just gone up to you when you came back and said, 'Well, Ron, while you were away, I snogged your best friend. Hope you can forgive me!'?'

Ron sighed.

'You're right,' he said. 'But, fuck Hermione; I didn't _mean_ to hurt you. I really didn't. I've told you over and over that I wanted to come back as soon as I'd Disapparated!'

'I know,' she said. 'But then, I didn't.'

Ron sighed again and brushed her hair off of her face.

'We'll just forget about it. It didn't mean anything to either of you,' he said.

Hermione pulled him close to her in a hug. Ron held her and stroked her hair.

'Ron?' she whispered.

'Yes, love?'

'I'm sorry.'

'I know.'

* * *

The ride back up the pipe was quiet with the exception of the wind whistling in their ears. Hermione was resting her head against Ron's back, one arm around his waist and the other holding the Basilisk fangs to her chest. They reached the opening and Ron slowed down and hovered above the ground slightly before lowering the broom. Hermione let Ron go as soon as her feet were touching the ground. She dismounted and wobbled a bit. Ron gripped her arm and Hermione gave him a small smile.

'Thanks,' she whispered.

Ron grinned at her and she knew that all was forgotten.

'Not a problem,' he said.

'We should get back; Harry's probably worried about us,' she said. 'I've no idea how long we've been gone.'

Ron tucked the broomstick under his arm, grabbed Hermione's hand and raced from the bathroom.

* * *

'Where the _hell_ have you been?' Harry shouted, running at them.

'Chamber of Secrets,' said Ron.

'Chamber – _what_?' said Harry, stopping in front of them.

'It was Ron, all Ron's idea!' said Hermione, breathless from running. 'Wasn't it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after you left, and I said to Ron, even if we find the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn't gotten rid of the cup! And then he though of it! The Basilisk!'

'What the -?'

'Something to get rid of the Horcruxes,' said Ron.

Harry dropped his eyes to the fangs in their hands.

'But how did you get in there?' he asked. 'You need to speak Parseltongue!'

'He did,' Hermione whispered. 'Show him, Ron!'

Ron imitated the horrible spitting sound that he had made back in Myrtle's bathroom.

'It's what you did to open the locket,' he said apologetically. 'I had to have a few goes to get it right, but,' Ron shrugged, 'we got there in the end.

'He was _amazing_,' said Hermione. 'Amazing!'

'So …' Harry took a breath and shook his head slightly. 'So …'

'So we're another Horcrux down,' said Ron as he pulled the mangled remains of Hufflepuff's cup from under his jacket. 'Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn't had the pleasure yet.'

'Genius!' Harry exclaimed.

'It was nothing,' said Ron; Hermione looked over at him and saw that he looked terribly pleased with himself. 'So what's new with you?'

As soon as the words left his mouth, an explosion came from above and all three of them looked up to see dust floating down from the ceiling; a scream pierced their eardrums. Harry looked back at them and explained where the diadem was and what it looked like before leading them back to the Room of Requirement. They entered and were immediately bombarded with questions.

'Ah, Potter,' said Neville's grandmother. 'You can tell us what's going on.'

'Is everyone OK?' Tonks and Ginny asked.

''S far as we know,' said Harry. 'Are there still people in the passage to the Hog's Head?'

'I was the last to come through,' said Mrs Longbottom. 'I sealed it; I think unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my grandson?'

'He's fighting,' said Harry.

'Naturally,' Mrs Longbottom said rather proudly. 'Excuse me, I must go and assist him.'

Hermione grinned and looked over at Ron, who was chuckling slightly.

'-Teddy at your mother's?' Harry was saying.

'I couldn't stand not knowing –' Tonks looked anguished. 'She'll look after him – have you seen Remus?'

'He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds –'

Tonks took off before Harry had even finished. Harry turned to Ginny.

'Ginny, I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in.

Ginny grinned and ran up the stairs after Tonks.

'And then you can come back in!' Harry yelled after her. '_You've got to come back in_!'

'Hang on a moment!' said Ron sharply. 'We've forgotten someone!'

'Who?' Hermione asked, looking at him.

'The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?'

'You mean we ought to get them fighting?' Harry asked; he sounded slightly confused.

'No,' said Ron seriously, 'I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbys, do we? We can't order them to die for us –'

The control Hermione had on herself since the ride on the dragon's back had snapped. Letting the Basilisk fangs drop to the ground, Hermione launched herself at her boyfriend and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron's arms wrapped around her waist immediately and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Hermione felt her feet leave the ground and kissed him more fiercely than she ever had before; she completely forgot that Harry was right in front of them.

'Is this the moment?' he asked weakly.

They both ignored him and Hermione felt her body sway slightly as her arms tightened around Ron's neck. It felt like forever since they had last done this and Hermione couldn't believe that she had lasted this long.

'OI! There's a war going on here!'

Ron broke away from Hermione.

'Pretend that was the first time,' she breathed against his mouth, hoping Harry hadn't heard her.

Ron grinned and blinked a couple times.

'I know, mate,' he said to Harry, 'so it's now or never, isn't it?'

'Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?' Harry shouted as Ron placed Hermione back on her feet. 'D'you think you could just – just hold it in until we've got the diadem?'

'Yeah – right – sorry,' said Ron.

Hermione felt her cheeks burning as she realised that Harry had, indeed, watched them kiss. She and Ron gathered up the fangs and Harry lead the way out of the room. Hermione and Ron trailed behind him.

'That was rather spontaneous of you,' he whispered.

'I've wanted to kiss you since we escaped from Gringotts,' she whispered back.

Ron blinked but didn't get the chance to say anything; they had caught up with Harry. Hermione looked around and saw all of the damage done to the castle in the few minutes that they had spent in the Room of Requirement. Yells and screams were echoing everywhere and Hermione only caught snippets of conversations as people yelled frantic questions to each other regarding loved ones. She watched as Harry paced back and forth in front of the stretch of wall and realised that what she just shared with Ron might just be the last thing she ever did with the man she had fallen in love with. The war that had been going on for several years now had never felt so real, and she prayed to whomever it was that was watching over them that she and everyone else she loved made it through alive.

**Fin**


End file.
